Feb 3, 201710 min read

Foundation Review Part 7 – Nars All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation Review, Full Chemical, Market

Heyyyyy Beauties

Nars Cosmetics have a range of foundations and today, I am going to be talking about the Nars All Day Luminous Foundation.

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As always with foundation posts, I am going to go over main headings including shade range, consistency/coverage, wear test, chemical analysis, marketing analysis, price analysis and then I will tell you my overall thoughts.

Available Shades

20 Shades

The Nars Luminous Weightless Foundation is available in 20 different shades.I think the shade range is pretty good and includes a variety of light, tan and dark shades.

Swatch in Shade Light 4

Consistency/Coverage/Best Applied With

Liquid, Medium-Full, BeautyBlender or Flat Kabuki

The Consistency of the Nars Luminous Foundation is pure liquid. It has no real creaminess to it and is just pure liquid. It isn’t very runny though, it’s hard to explain but it’s a cross between an extremely runny liquid and a cream foundation. I really like the consistency of the foundation.

The Coverage is medium to buildable full. It can deffo be built up to give you a high coverage, but can be worn as a medium coverage by applying less. The foundation feels light and soft on the face.

I am going to talk more about the consistency and coverage in the Wear Test section below.

The product is best Applied With a Flat Kabuki Foundation brush or a BeautyBlender to pack the product into the skin for higher coverage,

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Amount/Shelf Life

30 ml, 2 years

The NARS Weightless Luminous Foundation contains 30 ml (1 fluid ounces) of product and has a shelf life of 24 months (2 years). This means you have 2 years to use 30 ml of product, which is pretty good considering foundation is used more than any other product.

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Lasting Power/Wear Test

To test the lasting power and wear of the foundation, I checked my face in the mirror 4 times in 2 hour intervals and described what I thought, equaling 8-hours of total wear.

Wear Test with Time Intervals

Time Applied-12.45 PM

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Thoughs Upon Application- The consistency is pure liquid but it isn’t heaps runny. It blends out almost the same with a beauty blender and flat kabuki brush but the beauty blender absorbs a tiny bit more, so I like applying this better with a flat kabuki brush. Coverage has to be built up so I had to apply two layers to get a nice high coverage finish, but 2 layers is good. There is a very faint smell but nothing too strong All in all, I really like the finish and coverage so far

First Check In- 2.45 PM–two hours later– The foundation is still fully on and the coverage is still full (none lost). There is no cracking or creasing and it has held up good in the hot weather where I am. It does have more of a natural finish but does give full coverage and looks good. After 2 hours, it has worn and lasted really good.

Second Check In- 4.45 PM– four hours later– Foundation still fully on and coverage is the same. There is no cracking, settling or creasing. It looks the same as the last check in and has worn and lasted good after 4 hours.

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Third Check In-6.45 PM– six hours later– Foundation still on and coverage still full. It has gone a bit greasy which is most likely because of the heat but it is easily fixed with a bit of matte translucent powder, which makes it look as good as new. It has worn and lasted good after 6 hours and as I said only needs a tiny touch up with powder (which is because it is extremely extremely hot where I am).

Fourth Check In- 8.45 PM– eight hours later– After 8-hours the foundation is still fully on and the coverage is high. The finish still looks amazing despite the heat and it has lasted extremely good throughout the day. I only needed to touch up with matte translucent powder once to eliminate greasiness from the heat but I didn’t need to add any more foundation which is really good. After 8 hours, it has worn and lasted amazing.

Lasting Power/Wear Conclusion

I really like the Nars Weightless Luminous Foundation and it lasted and wore very good after 8-hours. The foundation stayed on so good in the heat (It has been over 40 degrees where I live) and only needed a slight touch up after 6 hours. I really like the finish, coverage and how it looks.

Passed 8-Hour Lasting Power Test? Yes

Passed 8-Hour Wear Test? Yes. Needed one touch up with powder but that was because of the heat

Chemical (Formula) Analysis

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There are 29 ingredients in the base formula of the Nars All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation and 5 ingredients in the pigment list, giving the product a total of 33 ingredients.

For a base formula, 29 ingredients is a lot and the formula is quite long, which isn’t necessarily a good or bad thing. Long formula’s are not rare at all though.

The Foundation is ranked by the Cosmetic Analysis Database as a ‘Recommended/Good’ formula, which is the second best rating a formula can get. The Cosmetic Analysis Database ranks all individual chemicals in the formula into 5 categories based on functioning and safety – Highly Recommended, Recommended, Average, Not Recommended and To Be Avoided- and then returns an overall formula ranking based on this.

It is not all that common at all for a formula to rank as ‘Recommended/Good’ and most products rank as ‘Average’, so this foundation is unique in that it ranks so good on the database.

NOTE- I am unsure of the concentration that any of the chemicals are present in, companies do not have to legally disclose the exact concentration levels of ingredients present in a formula.

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The ‘Good/Recommended’ ranking of the foundation is a result of 3 highly recommended chemicals, 17 recommended chemicals, 10 average chemicals , 3 not recommended chemicals and NO to be avoided ingredients . The Nars Luminous Weightless Foundation is composed mostly of high quality, recommended ingredients and there are only 3 not recommended ingredients in the whole formula, which is very rare for a product and most usually contain a few more not recommended ingredients.

Beneficial/Recommended ingredients in the Foundation include Tocopheryl, Retinyl Palmitate, Ascorbic Acid, Boerhavia Diffusa Root Extract, Glycerin, Decyl Isostearate, Polysilicone-2 and Tocopheryl Acetate.

Tocopherol (Vitamin E) is an antioxidant and skin protecting agent that protects the skin from damage from external factors such as free radicals, which accelerate the aging process and can be very harmful to the skin. Tocopherol also helps to prevent damage by oxidation which extends the shelf life of products.

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Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) is another antioxidant agent that can protect the skin from free radicals like Vitamin E, which has anti-aging benefits. Vitamin C also helps wound healing, helps cell renewal, smooths the skin, strengthens the immune system and helps to avoid damage to products by oxidation.

Retinyl Palmitate is a skin conditioning agent that regenerates cells, maintains the skin in good condition and like Ascorbic Acid and Vitamin E, protects the skin from free radicals, which gives it anti-aging characteristics. Retinyl Palmitate can also protect against light induced damage.

Boerhavia Diffusa Root Extract is an antioxidant, skin protecting and skin soothing agent that has benefits on the skin including soothing , calming and moisturizing and the skin as well as protecting it from external damage. I am going to talk more about this ingredient in the marketing analysis section below.

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Glycerin is a Humectant and solvent agent that has beneficial characteristics such as smoothing the skin. Humectants are ingredients that increase the water content on the skin by drawing in moisture from the surrounding air. This means that Glycerin has skin moisturizing benefits.

There are a variety of antioxidant ingredients in the formula that protect from free radicals and have anti-aging effects including Vitamin E (Tocopheryl), Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid) and Retinyl Palmitate. These antioxidant agents extend the shelf life of products by protecting them from damage by oxidation and microorganisms, which contributes to the 2 year shelf life of the foundation (a product must have a mix of preservatives and/or antioxidant ingredients to have a shelf life of 2 years or more). There is only one preservative chemical in the formula (Phenoxyethanol), so the antioxidant ingredients work with Phenoxyethanol to prevent rancidity, etc.

Not Recommended Ingredients in the formula include Hydrogen Polyisobutene, PEG-10 Dimethicone and Isododecane. As I said above, this is a very low amount of not recommended ingredients and formula’s usually have atleast 5 or more (especially in long formulas), so 3 is really good.

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The 3 not recommended ingredients are added to the formula to make the product function like it does, aka, they are ingredients added for function and not benefit. The product wouldn’t work exactly the way it does without some of these.

Isododecane is a solvent agent that contributes to the texture and finish of products and is used to make products matte, so the foundation isn’t completely luminous like the name suggests. Isododecane coats the skin in a waterproof barrier, which helps the foundation stay on. Isododecane does have some beneficial characteristics, but also has not so beneficial characteristics such as drying out the skin (due to it’s waterproof properties), preventing it from breathing, leading to heat build up, promoting comedone construction (pore blocking), promoting wrinkle construction and potentially building up in the liver, kidneys and lymph nodes.

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Hydrogenated Polyisobutene is a viscosity control agent that has a lot of the same characteristics as Isododecane, including drying out the skin, leading to heat build up, promoting wrinkle and comedone construction, preventing the skin from breathing and being poorly biodegradable.

PEG-10 Dimethicone has multiple uses including being an anticaking, film forming, hair conditioning, slip modifier (and more) agent. It has some negative characteristics such as irritating the skin and making it more porous, which can cause hazardous materials to be absorbed. It is also irrelevant to the environment.

All in all, the Nars Luminous Weightless Foundation has a really good formula and the amount of good ingredients outweigh the bad by far. As I have said a million times, having only 3 not recommended ingredients in the entire formula and no to be avoided ingredients is really, really good. This is reflected in the ‘Good/Recommended’ reading by the Cosmetic Database that not many products manage to get (most products are ranked as Average).

Marketing Analysis

Is this product marketed correctly?

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To assess if marketing is accurate, I looked up what claims Nars uses to sell the foundation and then made up questions that I set out to answer to test the accuracy.

Nars describes the foundation by saying…

“Innovation. Weightless Long-wear Technology delivers up to 16 hours of wear, while always feeling light-as-air. Featuring advanced flexible polymers and first-to-market treated pigments. Advanced flexible polymers move with the skin, providing extraordinary breathability and comfort.

Gold and green pigments in a perfect 4-to1 ratio optically manipulate how light reflects off skin’s surface, evening the complexion for instant luminosity. Green pigments negate redness on contact, while gold combats dullness. Scarlet Spiderling Root Extract helps reduce the appearance of discoloration and reveal brighter, more even skin over time”

Questions I Have After Reading Marketing

Is the foundation weightless and long wearing? Does it last 16-hours and does it feel light on the face?

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The Nars Weightless Luminous Foundation is extremely light on the skin and lasts long on the skin. It passed my 8-hour wear test and by the end was still providing full coverage. I’m not sure if it will last 16-hours as mentioned, but it did last 8-hours and looked like it would stay for longer. Nars have marketed the ‘weightless texture’ and ‘long lasting power’ claims accurately but I’m unsure about the 16 hour of wear claim, I feel like brands trick us with this because they know that nobody really leaves foundation on for 16 hours straight.

Does Scarlet Spiderling Root Extract help reduce the appearance of discoloration and reveal bright, more even skin over time? What is the proper name of Scarlet Spiderling Root Extract in the formula?

Scarlet Spiderling Root Extract is in the formula as Boerhavia Diffusa Root Extract (it’s proper chemical name). As I said in the chemical analysis section, Boerhavia Diffusa Root Extract has antioxidant, skin protecting and skin soothing properties. It soothes and calms the skin as well as moisturizing and protecting it.

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The soothing and calming properties of this ingredient may contribute to the ‘reduction of discoloration’ that Nars mentions and may contribute to overall skin brightness by soothing the skin over time. This means that Nars have accurately marketed Boerhavia Diffusa Root Extract.

What pigments are in the formula? Do they manipulate how light reflects of the skins surface? Do they even the skin for instant luminosity? There are 5 pigments in the formula including Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, C1 77499), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891) and Mica. These are all mineral ingredients. These pigment chemicals reflect, filter and absorb UV light which do manipulate how light reflects of the surface of the skin. Mineral pigments reflect light allowing them to contribute to a ‘luminous’ look, so Nars have accurately marketed this claim.

All in all, marketing of this foundation is accurate and Nars has not made any claims that can’t be backed up scientifically or physically.

Price Analysis

$71.00 AUD , $49.00 USD

The Nars Luminous Weightless Foundation is a higher end product so does cost a bit. To me, a foundation over $50.00 is a bit too much, especially since foundation is used almost every day and tends to run out quickly. This foundation does contain a lot of beneficial ingredients though, and provides amazing, medium to full build able coverage too.

Taking all of this into consideration, I would say that the foundation is a tad over priced, but that’s expectable from a brand like Nars. If you don’t mind having a splurge on foundation, I do recommended trying this to see how you like it. I wouldn’t choose to use this everyday though because it would be a bit expensive to keep buying all the time when there are better, less expensive products out there (like my favourite Ella Bache Sunguard Foundation).

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Overall Thoughts/Conclusion

The Nars Luminous Weightless Foundation is a medium-full coverage foundation with a liquid consistency that is not too runny. It contains 30 ml of product and has a shelf life of 2 years. The foundation wears and last’s very well, and it passed both my 8-hour wear test and 8-hour lasting power test. The day I tested it, it was boiling where I am, and it lasted all day with no coverage coming off. I did have to put a tiny bit of setting powder on after a few hours because it got a bit shiny but it was a quick fix and was only due to the heat.

The finish is natural yet full coverage and it feels super light on the skin. It is best applied with a BeautyBlender or flat kabuki. The foundation has a really good formula that ranks very well on the database, and contains multiple extremely beneficial ingredients and hardly any (3) not recommended/bad ingredients. All claims that have been put into the marketing and selling of the product are accurate and can be backed up scientifically and physically.

While I do find the foundation to be over-priced, I don’t think it’s extremely overpriced. All in all, I really like this foundation. The finish and coverage is nice, and I like that the formula is packed full of beneficial ingredients.

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